Author: Lana Kaczmarek

“Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” (Mk 9:2-3)

To be a Disciple of Christ is to follow him, to learn from him and ultimately to be like him. Every moment with Jesus was a teachable moment. An opportunity to learn, to listen, to obey, to grow. Jesus freely shared his thoughts, his knowledge, his heart, his wisdom with his disciples. He continues to do so with us. Jesus understands that we absorb instruction and knowledge differently. Not all in the same way or at the same rate or in the same capacity. Our upbringing plays a key role in our development. It affects how we learn, how we teach, how we experience, how we understand. This is an important lesson for all teachers. To understand that not all the students start from the same page or from the same place or from the same point of understanding. A good teacher understands the students; their abilities, their limitations, how they take in information, how they process it, how they learn and how they teach. Jesus understood this. He used different methods of learning. At times, the disciples listen to Jesus share prayers and beatitudes. At times, the disciples saw signs and wonders. Other times, the disciples experienced acts of mercy and healing. Other times, Jesus shared parables to engage the disciples’ imagination in order to contemplate what the Kingdom of God is like. Through the use of these different styles of teaching and learning, Jesus re-enforced the most important lesson of them all.  How to be loving, kind, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, charitable. How to be like Jesus. Some of the lessons were difficult to understand. Like why was it necessary for Jesus to be mocked, rejected, beaten and killed then rise on the third day? God forbid they said. But being the good, patient teacher that he was, Jesus helped the disciples to see, listen, experience, and imagine the importance of the lesson through the Transfiguration. They would come to learn and understand without a doubt the depth of God’s love and the power of his glory that would destroy death, forgive sin and restore life simply because God loves us.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (MT 14:26-27)

Pause for a moment and think about your worst fear. You know, that thing you fear the most. That thing that causes you to have sleepless nights, to over-eat, to weep uncontrollably. What if that thing really happened? What if the thing you fear the most came to pass? What is the worst that could happen? You lose your job, they find out you lied, you are embarrassed, you lose your life? Well, that could happen. But never forget that God loves you, he really loves you. God will never abandon you. God will save you. God’s plan is to have you with him in his heavenly Kingdom for all eternity. A place where there is no fear, no crying, no hurting, no pain, no dying. So even if your worst fear comes to pass, the Good News is that you will still end up with God. We fear hurt and pain and embarrassment and loss. That stuff really scares and disables us. But with God, there is endless love and mercy and consolation and peace even in moments of fear and hurt and embarrassment and loss. Especially in those moments. The moments when we need God the most. God’s gifts and God’s grace are more abundant than all our fears combined. Where there is fear, there is much more grace. When we are frightened, God’s arms hold us even tighter. When we are scared, know that we are never alone for God is with us, he will never abandon you. The things that should frighten us the most is our pride and our numbness to sin. These separate us from God’s gracious gifts, from his holy presence, from his amazing grace. And that should really scare us. We need God. We really need him. We can’t live without him. Holy Fear is our strength in moments of temptation, in moments of fear, in moments of pride and even moments of sin. In these moments, God’s grace floods us with the knowledge that he loves us, the understanding that God is greater than all our fears, the wisdom to overcome our sin and the strength to get over our prideful condition. But we must cooperate with God’s grace. We must become meek and humble of heart like Jesus and surrender to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fear can disable us, imprison us, shut us down. Fear can cause fatigue and fill us with anxiety but only if we let it. Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” God is always with us. He will never leave us alone. Plus, we must consider the fact that our greatest fear may never even come to pass. Jesus, we love you and we trust in you!

“At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.” (LK 19:1-3)

My Lord, I beg you. I really beg you. From a body that wishes to bend its knees in humble adoration to praise you. From a spirit of profound humility that longs for an intimate encounter with you. From a restless mind tired of thinking, overburdened with temptation and just simply wanting to see you. From a heart that suffers spiritual homelessness when it’s unable to be united to you. From a soul overcome with a deluge of tears at the thought of you touching this innocence and seeing me, truly seeing me, as no one else can see me and sincerely gazing upon the beauty you created in me. So Lord, I beg you. I really beg you. Set your Holy gaze upon me right now, in this moment, please come in this instant, I’m begging you. Let your infinite vision gaze upon my finiteness and see me as I truly am in this moment, at this time, in this instance. Let your vision of Truth penetrate me to the core of my being as one who looks through a sheet of transparency paper and simply sees me, really sees me as I am. Please see me as I am. See me in my temptations, my tribulations, my frustrations. Look upon me with the gaze of your sweet Mercy and please see in me, way down deep in me the source of my impatience, my lack of understanding, my perceived shortcomings and even those shortcomings I tend to dwell on. Please be moved with such compassion and pity for me and heal me, please heal me. Bring your healing balm deep within me. Let the eyes of Wisdom and Divine Charity see in me the wounded, broken humanity given to me at birth as a cross which has been broken unmercifully by others and wounded unmercifully by me but still so mercifully treated and loved by you. O Lord, you know and feel the sense of my spiritual urgency and would never intentionally ignore me or ignore the cries of your poor lowly creatures. Our hearts are forever connected, fused in an ocean of your divine grace. We believe and we are certain that you know us. We believe and know you experience our longing for you. We know and believe you hear our cries. You even hear our tears and the sound of our restless heartbeats. Lord, we are searching for you. We are longing for you. We are looking for you. Lord, please come to our assistance but we know, and we are confident that you are already on your way.

“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.” (MT 9:35)

“Do you ever wonder why we are here and say to yourself there has to be more to life than just this? Somehow we’re just not getting it.” These were the philosophical questions I asked that began a collision course between God’s Divine and Providential Plan and my limited and sad understanding of God, his love, his call, his will. The questions tore open a spiritual doorway into my heart that pushed me into the world of the discerning spirit and the opportunity to serve. The gateway that was opened to me that day, although neglected and ignored at times, could never be closed and certainly would never stop knocking until the call was answered and my heart was satisfied. These somewhat harmless but most profound and prophetic questions echo in the hearts of so many hungry souls and weary spirits who thirst and seek to respond to the possibility of entering into a deeper and more personal relationship with God by sharing in the mission and ministry of Christ. The mission and ministry of Christ seeks to bring about the happiness of individuals through the Teaching of the Law, the Preaching of the Gospel and the Healing of the hearts that are broken, the healing of the spirits that are wounded, the healing of the bodies that are aching, the healing of the souls that are hurting and the healing of the minds that have been tainted by sin. Jesus taught that the Son of Man would be mocked and rejected, persecuted and slapped, chained and scourged, crucified and killed but will be raised on the third day in order to bring out the salvation of souls and the restoration of the fallen humanity. We can help by sharing the truth. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God was at hand and that love and compassion, peace and joy, mercy and forgiveness would rule and reign forever. We can help by helping others to welcome God’s Kingdom into their hearts and homes. Jesus went from town to town casting out sin and Satan, healing division and illness and restoring people to good health and into a loving and intimate relationship with God. We can help by allowing Jesus to heal us first. By allowing Jesus to enter into the hurt, into our pain, into our own suffering, into our own wounds and woundedness. Sharing in this awesome mission and ministry of Christ will certainly bring about our healing and the healing of so many other people for we will understand why we are here and will come to understand our purpose and come to realize there is nothing more rewarding than assisting Jesus to bring about our own salvation and that of the whole world.

“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.” (MK 2:18-20)

Why do we fast? Well, at times we need to fast for medical reasons like when we have blood work done or when we prepare for a routine checkup or undergo a surgical procedure. We also fast for health reasons, to care for certain dietary concerns that can reduce health risks and to improve our overall wellness and wellbeing. We also fast for spiritual reasons. In ancient times, the People of God would fast in preparation to encounter God on his holy mountain and enter into God’s Holy presence. This ritual of purification was required to wash their bodies, purify their hearts and cleanse their minds in order to more fully enter into the Glory of God. For three days, God’s people would fast from certain foods, refrain from sin and avoid sinful activity in order to be holy before the Holy of Holies. They were to be purified in order to behold the Purity of God.  We more often than not attribute fasting to food similar to the observances and practices of the Lenten Season. But fasting is much more than refraining or abstaining from food since we are much more than body. We are also heart, spirit, mind, and soul. All these can uniquely contribute to or hinder our spiritual health and wellbeing. For example, to cleanse our minds in order to more fully enter into the Glory and Holiness of God, we can fast from impure and graven images. We can refrain from living and playing out fantasies. We can keep from judgmental and hurtful thoughts. We can stop worrying and begin to trust in God more fully. To consecrate our hearts in order to more intimately experience the Mercy of God, we can refrain from anger, get rid of malice, avoid hatred, eliminate envy and simply love more and forgive more often. To wash our bodies clean in order to be the Temple of God which we were created to be, we can fast from inappropriate touching, from obscene gestures, from impure acts, from bad language and from eating fast food in order to more fully become the Body of Christ.  To sanctify our spirits in order to more fully enter into the Kingdom of the Divine Will, we can fast from pride, from ego, from selfishness and from ambition in order to become more like Jesus who is meek and humble of heart. To purify our souls in order to be with God, we need to fast from blasphemies, idolatries, all mortal and grave sin and desire more the  road to saintliness, sanctity and holiness in order to make a full and faithful return to innocence and to the sacred.

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.”  Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” (JN 2:5)

A wedding is a joyous occasion. It is a new beginning, a grand celebration, a happy feast. It’s just a great day. We know a wedding involves lots of coordination, preparation, planning, prayer. When the big day arrives, all the invited guest, relatives and family, friends and neighbors, peers and coworkers come together, they gather, they come to share in this happy day. Throughout our lives, we have many opportunities to celebrate joyous moments and happy occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baptisms. retirements. The question is, did we remember to invite everyone? Was Mary part of your coordinating, preparing, planning, prayer? How about Jesus?  Did you remember to invite him, to ask him for help, support, encouragement, prayer? We tend to forget to invite the members of the Holy Family to our events, family gatherings, daily prayer.  They love when we call upon them – they are happy to join us, intercede for us, to be with us in all stages of life, in every happy occasion and in every sad moment. They are happy to help. One of the prayers I recite often, especially when I am about to embark or start something new, like a new project, a new assignment, a new meeting, a new gathering is to say, “Lord, may everything I do begin with your loving inspiration, continue with your help and come to perfection under your guidance through Christ our Lord.” In other words, Lord, I invite you to join me before starting anything and to help me see it through. It is important that we understand before undertaking anything, especially something new, to ask Mary and Jesus to please accompany us along the way. To please come into this moment, into this idea, into this plan, into this celebration, into this situation, into this project – come so that everything begins, continues and finishes with the support of the Holy Family. The scene of the Wedding at Cana tells us that the couple took the time to invite Jesus and Mary to their special day. It was important for them to have Jesus and Mary there and share in their joy. As Mary so graciously does, she anticipates a need and asks Jesus to help.  Although Jesus says, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” Jesus remains lovingly obedient to his Mother because she loves us. She is our Mother of Perpetual Help.  Have you invited Jesus and Mary into the planning and preparation of your life? Have you involved them in every decision, in every situation, every aspect of your life?  Have you invited them to be a part of your life because they certainly are a part of you.

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (MT 4:18-20)

People who have experienced a similar situation than we have or have undergone a similar circumstance seem to better understand us, they get us. They can better relate to what we have been through. They seem to better understand our struggles, our hurts, our pains, our impatience, our sorrows.  They understand our hardships, our illnesses, our exhaustion, our heartaches, our losses, our frustration. They understand it because they have been there and have personally suffered through it. That’s what I love about Jesus. He gets us, he understands us.  Having been born into our human weakness and frailty, Jesus understands our challenges and limitations, our temptations and frustrations, our shocks and surprises, our fears and our needs. He knows our bodies, our particular circumstance, the problems we face in life, the tough moments we have to face alone. He knows this because he has personally experienced the effects of our fallen and sinful state. Jesus knows the challenges we have gone through. He understands what we are going through right now and everything we will have to face later in life. He understands our lives are busy, our minds are restless, our time is over occupied. In order to help us, he graciously meets us where we are and invites us to follow him to a better place, a better life, a better frame of mind. Jesus will come and meet us at work or school. He will come and visit us in our lives and in our homes. He will come and meet us in our jobs and our occupations. He will come and meet us in any situation and in every circumstance. Don’t you just love that Jesus comes to meet us where we are? That’s what he did when he called the disciples. He met them where they where. It didn’t matter their particular state of life. Although we can learn and grow from the way the Apostles were called, the image of the fishermen leaves us with a beautiful Christ encounter to personally consider and take to prayer. Fishing was their livelihood. It’s what they knew. Their lives were dependent on it. However, we hear that sometimes they were unsuccessful at a catch.  But all that changes when Jesus comes to meet them where they are and fishes for them. He casts a wide net of confidence and joy. He lures them with words of truth, encouragement and everlasting life. Who can resist the sweet fragrance of his goodness, the voice of purity and truth, the beauty of holiness? They are “hooked”. They drop everything and follow Jesus. They become true fishermen. What about you? Are you hooked on Christ? Are you hooked on Jesus?

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.” (LK 4:1-2)

Usually, we don’t appreciate being told what to do. We simply don’t care for someone telling us what we can and cannot do or what we can and cannot say. Even if someone asks nicely, it bothers us. Even if we know it is the right thing to do, we just don’t care for it. Even though it’s something within reason, it still doesn’t matter. Even though it’s something we have to do – let’s face it, we just don’t like being told what to do. The cause of our resentment can vary. Sometimes it’s simply our pride that gets in the way (nobody tells me what to do!) or we don’t know the messenger (who does he think he is!) or we simply dislike the person giving the order (I can’t stand her!). We simply prefer not having anyone tell us what to do. Then, why are we so easily prone to be led by evil and do what Satan tells us to do? Didn’t we promise to reject him and all his works and all his empty promises? One of the things that should cause us to have a deep and genuine admiration for Jesus is that even though no one has the right or the authority to tell Jesus what to do, he still listened to Mary and Joseph and remained ever faithful to the Father’s Divine Will. What perfect humility even to the point of dying on the Cross. This inspires me, as Mary said, to do what ever Jesus tells me to do. Another reason is that Jesus, who is our Lord and King, never asks us to do something he himself has not done. He lived and died, loved and gave, prayed and obeyed, forgave and shared, blessed and believed and now he invites us to do the same. Jesus, though ever pure and sinless, undefiled and innocent, holy and without stain, allowed himself to receive a baptism of repentance so we could receive a baptism of salvation – a baptism of eternal life. This amazing example of Jesus’ deep love and profound humility should inspire us to happily imitate him in listening to Mary and Joseph and simply do whatever the Father asks us to do. When the Devil told Adam and Eve what to do, they listened and died. When the Devil told Jesus what to do, Jesus simply told him, “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve” and “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” So my brothers and sisters, listen to Jesus and live for ever.

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (MK 1:9-11)

Our baptism is an important day in our spiritual life and an important part of our spiritual journey. It is the entryway into the Father’s heart, the gateway into heaven, the doorway into eternal life. It is then we become beloved Children of God, members of his Holy Family, heirs to his Kingdom. We share in the blessings of Christ, the graces of the Holy Spirit, the mercy of God. Do you know the date of your baptism? Have you celebrated it? Let us take a moment to reflect on the gift of your special day. Once again, invite yourself into sacred quiet and peaceful prayer. Detach yourself from all possible noise and distractions. Enter into the prayer then enter into scene. Use your spiritual imagination to imagine what the church of your baptism looks like? Do you know the name of the church? Have you prayed to that Saint? When the priest asks, “what name do you give this child?” What name did they give you? Have you ever traced the Cross on your forehead given to you at baptism as you were claimed for Christ? Can you still feel the warm sensation and soothing effect of the Oil of Salvation applied to your chest to heal the wounds caused by sin? Have you embraced your baptismal promises to believe in God and to reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises? Do you believe in God? Do you reject sin?  Spend a moment reflecting on the prayer used to bless the water that brought you forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. “We ask you, Father, with your Son to send the Holy Spirit upon the water of this font. May all who are buried with Christ in the death of baptism rise also with him to newness of life.”  Reflect also for a moment on the prayer used to anoint you with the Sacred Chrism. “The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” God has truly blessed us. Have you thank God for saving you?

“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (LK 2:51-52)

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola provide a great opportunity to seriously detach oneself from the world for thirty days and enter into sacred silence and into God’s presence to contemplate the depth of his particular love for us and to pray for the grace to more intimately know Jesus, love him more freely and follow him more faithfully. In the first week of the Exercises, a person has the opportunity to review their life in light of God’s profound love. Openness to God’s holy love, sheds light on how selfishly we respond to God’s gifts and helps identify the ways, the excuses and the sins that have prevented us from loving Christ and being loved by him. From following him without hesitation or reservation. In the second week, the retreatant reflects on how to better imitate Christ and follow him as a faithful disciple by learning where Jesus worshiped, when he prayed, how he served and who he ministered to. In the third week, one meditates on the Passion and death of Christ. In Christ’s suffering, we experience God’s unconditional love for us and in the Eucharist we share in it. On the last week of the Exercises, the person experiences the Joy of the Resurrection and walks with the risen Christ as he dispels fear from the disciples hearts and shares the fulfillment of the Father’s peace. This new life inspires a disciple to make a total offering of self and encourages them to respond more generously to the call to love and serve Christ more faithfully.  There is also an opportunity during the Exercises to learn different forms of prayer and different ways to experience God in prayer. One of those ways is using the imagination to experience God by placing ourselves into scripture scenes to hear what people are listening to, see what they are seeing, smell what they are cooking, taste what they are eating, feel what they are sensing. The object of this form of prayer is to use our spiritual senses to become more attentive to God’s voice, more open to his presence, and more responsive to his holy will. Try it. Disconnect and detached yourself from the world and from noise for a while and enter into silence.  Imagine Jesus in the quiet, hidden years of his early life. Enter the scene. What might a school day with Jesus be like? What might a conversation with his friends sound like? How did Mary and Joseph feel living with God, caring for him, feeding him, bathing him? What must having God obedient to them fell like? What if God was obedient to you? How different would the world be?